Google, Kocca, MarppleShop to help Korean companies spread overseas

Officials from Korea Creative Content Agency, Google Korea and MarppleShop pose for photos at the joint partnership ceremony [GOOGLE KOREA]

Google, the Korea Creative Content Agency (Kocca) and e-commerce company MarppleShop will partner up to help Korean companies export their goods overseas and further spread Hallyu, or the Korean Wave, around the world.

The three parties signed a trilateral partnership to support the international expansion of small- and medium-sized enterprises in Hallyu-related industries, such as K-food, agriculture and fisheries, beauty and consumer goods, leveraging the global influence of K-content, Google Korea said Wednesday.

Kocca will be responsible for recruiting and selecting SMEs to participate in a government-led project to help support the production of branded content, such as web dramas and variety shows.

Google will assist in linking these participating enterprises with branded content producers who operate YouTube channels. The corporation will also provide the companies with consulting on YouTube channel management and offer training on utilizing YouTube's shop feature.

MarppleShop, a domestic creator commerce platform, will support online promotion and store openings both domestically and internationally through its platform. As a YouTube Shopping partner, MarppleShop will assist the enterprises in conveniently using YouTube Shopping.

"Korea's excellent content is driving the global Hallyu wave and playing a pivotal role in revitalizing related industries such as K-food and K-beauty, as well as the overall Korean economy,” Kyounghoon Harrison Kim, the director of Google Korea, said.

“We at Google, having supported the global success of Korean content and creators, are delighted to participate in this partnership aimed at assisting the overseas expansion and growth of domestic SMEs. We will continue to support the sustained development of Korea's content ecosystem."

BY LEE CHAE-MIN [lee.chaemin1@joongang.co.kr]